THE SEARCH ENGINE REPORTMay 6, 2002 - Number 66

The Search Engine Report is a monthly newsletter that covers developments with search engines and changes to the Search Engine Watch web site, http://searchenginewatch.com/. You may pass this newsletter on to others, as long either part is sent in its entirety.

Did you know that there's a longer, more in-depth version of this newsletter? The twice-monthly "Search Engine Update" newsletter is just one of the many benefits available to Search Engine Watch members Learn more about the advantages to becoming a member at this page:

Please note: due to the length of stories in this issue, most are online-only versions. A link to each article is listed in the newsletter, under the story's summary.

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Hello Everyone--

At the end of last year, I spoke to a group of librarians and professional researchers about developments in the world of web search. Before I began, I asked the audience what they thought the biggest challenge to web search was. Answers such as the need for better coverage of the web, relevancy quality, tools to find similar words and other technical features were suggested. No one came up with what I thought the biggest challenge was: making money.

Last year was a year of survival for many of our search engines. The year 2001 began with the closure of Go.com, the former Infoseek, then later NBCi and Excite stopped independent cataloging of the web. The remaining search engines looked as to how they were going to stay alive, and paid placement and paid inclusion programs became standard offerings, across the industry.

This month's issue of the newsletter deals with money. It wasn't a planned theme, but major changes at LookSmart, plus the battle between Overture and Google for the hands of Yahoo and AOL, have all revolved around money. How search engines will make money continues to have a deep impact on the results searchers see and the ability for webmasters to be found. I hope this issue better explains some of the significant changes that have just happened and makes you better prepared for more changes that are inevitable in the future.

Also, a personal note. I absolutely love to get feedback from readers and diligently read all my email for tips, ideas for future coverage and comments about articles within Search Engine Watch. I also try to respond to as much email as I can.

Now my plea. If you have comments, suggestions or tips, please do not send them to me between May 11 and May 27. I'm taking my first real computer-less vacation for three years during that time, to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary. If the computer goes along, my wife assures me there won't be an 11th anniversary.

I get on the order of 300 emails per day, a healthy chunk of that unfortunately spam from people who think I want to enlarge portions of my body, get HGH, (whatever that one is about), purchase Viagra, get a cable decoder and a host of other things, some of which are presented in Asian languages that I can't even read. I live in fear of what my email box will look like went I get back from my vacation.

I don't want to miss your important email, so either send it before the 11th or hang on and send it on the 28th. And if it's an urgent story, you can address it to associate editor Chris Sherman. Contact forms for both of us can be found below.

It's a real first -- we've got dates for all our Search Engine Strategies events through the end of the year. As a reminder, the Search Engine Strategies conference focuses on how to market your site on search engines. I program sessions that involve both search engine marketing experts and speakers from major search engines themselves. Sessions are designed to bring beginners up to speed and provide advanced marketers with tips, news and advice that they also can put to use.

On June 11 & 12, Search Engine Strategies comes to Sydney, and search engines confirmed to speak so far include AltaVista, LookSmart and Yahoo. On Aug. 12 & 13, the show arrives in San Jose, California. We also expect that a third day, Aug. 14, is to be added, with a particular focus on enterprise search. On Oct. 17 & 18, Search Engine Strategies comes to Munich. The year will end in Dallas, with a show on Dec. 11 & 12.

I'm sometimes asked which show people should go to, or do you need to go to every one? For many people, one per year is probably enough. That's why we do them in different locations, so that those who live in different regions can more easily attend.

In addition, our non-US shows usually focus in some way on the location where they are being presented. The UK show has sessions on marketing in Europe. The Sydney show will have sessions focusing on Australia and New Zealand, just as Munich will feature sessions on the German market.

Of course, you are more than welcome to come to as many shows at you like. Some content always changes, and to help those who come often, each show usually has an "itinerary" shown in the FAQ area to help those who've "Been Here Before." Similarly, there are suggested itineraries for beginners to search engine marketing and more advanced people.

Links to sites for all the shows can be found via the main Search Engine Strategies site below except Munich, which will be posted soon. The Sydney agenda is available, and the San Jose agenda should be ready in about two weeks. For the other shows, you can sign-up to be informed when the programs are ready.

There's also going to be a special "Search Engine Strategies Forum" in Singapore on June 17. This is a much different from the usual two-day, multi-track Search Engine Strategies conferences. It's a half day event that begins with an overview on search engine marketing from me, followed by a forum session with panelists from major search engines. More about the forum can be found below:

Most search engines come nowhere near monetizing all the links displayed on their search results pages. However, the quest for greater profits is likely to change this, especially if the search engines think it can be done without hurting the relevancy of their product. LookSmart's switch to cost-per-click pricing for small business listings is the first real test of maximizing monetization this way. Unfortunately, the change and others over the past year have created consumer concerns. Either the search engines need to address those concerns in a clear, single voice, or it is likely that standards will be imposed on them by some governmental agency. The full article exploring these issues can be found below:

Companion piece to the above article. Pages pitching webmasters on the advantages of paid inclusion end up hurting search engines that run these programs, because they imply that the search engines have out-of-date, incomplete listings of the web. A look at the mixed messages that are being sent out by the web's major crawlers.

Pay -- and keep paying -- or don't appear, LookSmart told existing and new listing customers last month, in a significant change to how the human-powered search engine lists web pages from commercial web sites. LookSmart previously allowed web pages to be included in its commercial listings by paying a one-time review fee, through its "Basic Submit" and "Express Submit" submission programs. These have now been eliminated, replaced last month by a new cost-per-click "LookListings Small Business" program. All full rundown on the changes can be found below:

Google has been selected by AOL to provide editorial search results and paid listings to AOL's various search properties in the United States, including AOL Search, Netscape Search and CompuServe Search. The deal ousts Overture, which has provided AOL with paid listings since October 2000. Inktomi also loses out in the deal. The company has provided editorial results to AOL Search since July 1999, but these are now to be phrased by this summer. The article below provides full details on the change. Please note that if you read an earlier version of this article, a significant change is that Netscape confirms in the near future, Google will shift to delivering the Netscape Search's primary results.

Overture had a major win last month by extending its initial five-month deal to provide paid listings to Yahoo to an additional three years. In addition, Overture being named Yahoo's exclusive paid listings provider may impact whether Google will get to renew its editorial partnership with Yahoo that expires next month. The article below provides full details on the change.

Overture filed a lawsuit against Google last month, claiming that Google has infringed on its patents that apply to bid-for-placement search ranking and for account management tools. More about the case can be found via the article below:

Google introduced two new interesting features last month. The first, Google Answers, is a beta program that allows users to get personal answers from a professional researcher, in exchange for a fee. The second allows programmers to use the new Google Web APIs (application programming interfaces) to create, well, anything they can think of to interact with Google.

Could the new Google Answers service replace expert libarians, researchers and reference desks? Various experts in the industry offer thoughts, but the consensus seems to be that they aren't scared of being wiped out.

Ironically, many people feel that staying current with the world of search is a major source of information overload. It needn't be, if you rely on this baker's dozen list of excellent newsletters and weblogs.

Pay per click search engines can bring lucrative, targeted traffic to your site, but how do they avoid abuse that can needlessly drive up your costs? Mamma.com's Patrick Hopf describes strategies and tactics to combat PPC fraud.

Though a small number of sites get the majority of inbound links and traffic, a new study reveals a previously unknown pattern of web page connectivity and shows how new, poorly connected sites can compete.

Each year, the International World Wide Web Conference provides a showcase for innovative web technologies. Here's a chronological list of significant papers over the past decade focusing on searching and search engines.

Threatened with a lawsuit from the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, AltaVista and Google said they would remove links to a web site explaining how to sabotage railway systems. A resolution with Yahoo is apparently still pending.

About 100 Comcast cable modem surfers were locked out from using Google for a few hours because of automated queries happening on the same IP block that they used. Revisits the long-standing dispute between WebPosition Gold and Google, over rank checking on the service.

Interesting article explaining allegations of how Merrill Lynch was apparently bullish on Overture when it was to gain banking fees from the company but not so hot when the company sought a stock sale through Merrill Lynch competitor Credit Suisse First Boston.

Those with new Hewlett-Packard computers will have one-button access to paid listings from Overture, in a new deal. When HP users want to search the web, they'll be directed to Overture's ad-dominated results. From the press release on the deal: "HP is committed to delivering Internet solutions that make customers' computing experience more productive and efficient." Yeah, HP did this for their customers, not because it represented a way for them to make more money off their customers.

Looks at Google's prospects to take on Overture, with an interesting quote from MSN saying they do see Google as a competitor. See the nice breakout graph showing visitors to Google.com versus Google-powered results at Yahoo.

After Teoma's official launch out of beta earlier this month, there was no end to articles written about the service. This one by Leslie Walker is unique in that she actually ran queries pitting Teoma against Google. Google won about three-quarters of the time, but she liked Teoma's refine feature, something Google lacks.

The World Association of Internet Marketing committee is charged with developing search engine marketing standards for its members, and it takes its first step by outlining some general areas for dialog.

Which is the freshest search engine? Google, with a range of between 1 day to 68 days old. Which is most out-of-date? WiseNut, with a range of 247 to 286 days old. Based on 12 sample searches and conducted by respected search engine commentator Greg Notess.